An unfortunately exciting new dimension
by Kirlial
Summary: A minor goddess of discord is bored. The solution? Push the hero into an new dimension! Percy is forced to deal with survival once again only this time he seems to be... the villain of this story? That can't be right.
1. Pushed put of space!

**Random story that I came up with and strangely enough wanted to post. Not sure whether or not I'll continue yet - maybe if there's a good response? Heroes of Olympus is disregarded for this and set after Last Olympian. This is just the prologue.**

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Eris, the goddess of Discord, crept through the quiet camp with a maniacal grin on her young-looking face. In her preferred form she appeared as a little girl and one wouldn't suspect such an innocent figure to be withholding a soul that thrived on chaos and strife. She was here because this camp had been too boring lately and it was her job to make it more interesting!

Percy Jackson, meanwhile, was sitting on the beach and staring at the ocean looking undeniably peaceful. He was her target. His existence had been previously dangerous and exciting but since he'd succeeded in saving Olympus from the Titan invasion he had been restful. It was frustratingly boring for the girl who thrived on thrills. He hadn't noticed her yet, which was just fine though it would have exciting to try a bit of deception too.

She went through her devious plan in her mind, eager to begin. She hadn't done something like this since she'd left a door in Olympus open for a certain son of Hermes to steal a certain Master bolt. Like most of her plans, this one was delightfully simple. There was nothing quite like destroying order with the lightest of touches, the smallest changes. All she had to do was push him violently into another dimension and watch what erupted when he was thrown into an alien situation.

And the best part was that even she wouldn't know in which dimension he'd end up. The anticipation of the unknown was enticing. Just one little push. Then she'd follow him like a ghost, watching the new scenario evolve. Maybe the alternate Percy from the new dimension could be pulled into this world too, for twice the chaos? That'd be perfect.

So she approached Percy Jackson, the recent hero of Olympus, carefully. The cool sand meant that her light footsteps made no sound and she walked barefoot over to him. When he did realise that she was behind him it was too late for him to prevent what happened next for she already had her small hands on his back. He probably didn't even know what was amiss. So, summoning her powers of discord, she pushed him violently forward and in front of them there appeared a tear in the very fabric that made up this dimension.

Percy choked down a scream at the menacing dark light that he was being thrown into; that was sucking him in as if it were ravenously hungry. Sudden and quick, it pulled him down. Down, through the worlds. Through the space between spaces. Clinging to his shoulder throughout this was a little girl, the embodiment of strife. There was no time between worlds so the unexpected trip took no time at all. Only the length of a single heartbeat.

The entire ordeal was very disorientating but none of it compared to simply blinking and finding that he was in a new place. Percy was now in a dimly-lit room and he seemed to be wearing different clothes, a thick jacket in contrast to the t-shirt he'd previously had on. How was this happening? A girl was still hanging on his shoulder strangely and he knew she had to have something to do with this. He grabbed her fiercely and faced her but she only giggled. She was wearing a large grin and her dark eyes were glinting mischievously.

Now Percy happened to have a fair amount of experience dealing with immortal beings disguised to look innocent (Percy arbitrarily decided that she just barely qualified on looking innocent) and judging on how she didn't appear at all afraid or even a little surprised, he concluded that she was somehow the cause of all this. At the very least she had to know what was going on.

"Where am I? And who are you?" He demanded desperately.

She slid out of his grip cheerfully. "Somewhere exciting, I hope! I'm going to look around but I will come back - don't worry!" She said in an oddly relaxed voice, opening the only door in this plain-looking room. He could see her frown slightly when it only lead to an equally bland hallway. "You can call me Eris though," she added in an afterthought before darting down the hallway.

"Good luck then, Eris." Percy replied, not sure if she heard or not. He couldn't help but calm down simply at her infectiously happy attitude. None of her actions indicated that there was any immediate danger which was a good sign. And even if she was somehow the cause of this, at least she seemed to be happy. Maybe this could be the start of one of those fun not life-threatening adventures. They existed, right?

And why did the name Eris sound so familiar to him?

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**So this is the first chapter in an alternate universe fic featuring canon Percy. The idea is that Eris is just there for thrills and will follow around Percy, messing with the plot whenever it amuses her. Percy doesn't know it yet but in this world he's a bit of a villain - and so are some of his friends. Of course his ideals haven't changed yet. Pairing is undecided, feel free to suggest one.**

**So I may continue to write this if there's interest but I'm still writing Regrets so not sure how frequent updates might be. Anyway I would appreciate some reviews! Hope you like this.**


	2. Not getting any answers!

**I'm pleased to say that I got a good response and I have some more ideas so I went and wrote another chapter. This one's a little longer and you can consider the first a prologue. Hope you like it!**

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Oh no.

Percy recalled Annabeth once telling him a story concerning a certain goddess named Eris. She'd been angry because she hadn't been invited to a cool party or something and in revenge started an argument between Athena, Aphrodite and Hera on who was the most beautiful. That escalated into the Trojan War which got of thousands of people killed. Annabeth had recommended adding Eris into his list of names to stay far, far away from. It looked like he'd failed.

Oh well, he still had to figure out exactly what she'd done. He was standing in a small, sparsely furnished bedroom that he didn't recognise. The lone window indicated that it was past sunset, which was about the same time as before he'd somehow teleported here. He was wearing a completely different assortment of clothes however so it wasn't some sort of 'normal teleportation' (if those existed at all). Percy didn't really have an explanation for any of this just yet.

Still he looked around, Eris had said she'd come back in a minute hadn't she? When he caught sight of some framed photos lying on a table – a desk actually- he immediately examined them to see if they'd give him some information about where he'd ended up. They looked to be… pictures of himself and Annabeth? And behind it there was a photo of him and Thalia, except she looked older than she ought to be. Was that Bianca di Angelo? Silena Beauregard? There was Chris Rodriguez. Finally, Ethan Nakamura, the son of Nemesis.

This was too much. Three of those people were dead. Why would there be photos of them here? And he was standing next to them but he didn't remember ever posing for a picture with any of them – these were clearly posed, as everyone was smiling at the camera. Even the picture of him and Annabeth didn't look familiar; her hair seemed shorter, barely touching her shoulders. Where could these pictures have possibly come from? Just looking at the mix between familiar and unfamiliar was making his head hurt.

Trying to distract himself from them for the moment, he looked around the room again. The only thing that caught his eye was a glass tank full of water, sort of like a fish tank but without any fish in it. He wondered what it could be there for – maybe someone was planning to get some fish soon and was preparing in advance? There was a small bed but it didn't look particularly threatening so he ignored it. As he looked back at the desk he spotted an object he'd missed – a mobile phone.

Usually demigods avoided phones as they had an annoying tendency to alert monsters to their presence, this was a demigods' room wasn't it? Well Annabeth had a phone and she was a demigod so it didn't exactly rule out anything. He picked it up but it immediately requested a passcode before it would tell him anything interesting. That was a little infuriating.

As he was putting the phone back down he heard Eris come bounding back into the room. He immediately grabbed her by the arm because she'd already landed into his list of possible enemies. It was best if she didn't do anything. Eris didn't seem to care, in fact she was laughing, looking excited by whatever she'd seen.

"I'm back!" She announced grandly.

"Okay, so what did you discover?" He asked, with far less enthusiasm, not that it was possible to have more.

The girl was practically bouncing in excitement. "Well we're in a house and it appears that seven demigods live here. We don't appear to have moved through time at all!"

Percy wondered if that information was really worth being that excited about. "Right. How did we get here by the way?" He asked in a serious voice. She wasn't taking this seriously at all.

She rolled her eyes at his lack of enjoyment. "I pushed you obviously."

That just raised more questions. At least he knew for sure that this was all her fault though. "Why?"

She wrestled her arm out of his grip, purely for some dramatic gestures and arm waving. "Because this is going to be really exciting!" She declared, stretching out her arms as if suggesting it was 'that' exciting.

Percy was unaffected by her enthusiasm. "So I'm not going to be stuck here forever or anything…?" He asked, because gods liked doing things like that.

She cackled. "No, I'm not powerful enough to keep both of us here indefinitely! I'm only some minor goddess. And that's not even taking into consideration your alternate self."

"Wait my alternate self?"

Eris suddenly silenced, smile disappearing. After a pause in which Percy wait for her to respond, she simply ran away, through the doorway and into the hall. Percy quickly gave chase to demand some more information from her; it was clear she was hiding something.

She froze before she could crash into a wall in her haste. Percy immediately lunged for her before she could try to escape again. But then she turned and gave him an evil little smile. He grabbed her shoulders but then her little hands found his chest and she pushed him as hard as she could. Normally this wouldn't be much of a problem but unfortunately for him, he lost his balance and found himself tumbling down the staircase, for she'd lead him to the top of it.

"Aaahh!" He yelled, angrily.

He waited for the hard impact but it wasn't as bad as he'd feared – someone had grabbed him, preventing him from getting seriously hurt. He looked around, dazed, and caught sight of his girlfriend Annabeth's face. He grinned at her, and tried to orientate himself – he was now lying on the carpeted stairs, with his feet a few steps above his head. Annabeth appeared to be upside down too.

He righted himself and sat down on the second step next to Annabeth who was looking at him in concern, and just a tiny bit of amusement. She often laughed when he got himself into silly situations but always came to help him if he needed it. He was aware of a dull pain on his head, which was odd because he wasn't supposed to feel any pain since his dip in the river Styx.

"You alright, Percy? Please try to avoid killing yourself every time you walk down the stairs, it's not hard," she lectured but looked at him in concern.

"Don't worry, I'm fine," Percy replied quickly, smiling at her. He glanced up the stairs but didn't see Eris anywhere; she was probably just hiding though. He'd have to get revenge later.

"Of course you're fine, I stopped you from falling!" Annabeth smiled back.

"Yeah thanks, hey did you cut your hair?" He asked, noting its short length. Percy easily got distracted.

Annabeth just looked at him in confusion. "You know I haven't left the house in a few days?"

Before he could try and interpret that, another two people walked over to them, coming through a doorway from some other part of this building. He recognised Chris Rodriguez but paused at the sight of Thalia whom looked to be about twenty years old or older. That was impossible, wasn't she nearly sixteen for life? Was this some sort of weird dream?

"What happened?" Old Thalia asked briskly, looking at the pair of us.

Annabeth didn't seem to be surprised oddly enough. "Percy fell down the stairs but he seems to be fine, still featherbrained unfortunately." Her tone was warm rather than insulting but it was odd that he wasn't calling him a 'seaweed brain'.

Thalia sighed but her eyes were glittering. Maybe she wasn't that old. "That's far too much to be expected of a staircase, Annabeth," she said.

"Well guys, ready for a quick meeting?" Chris cut in, before the girls could tease him anymore. He was good for defusing tension.

Percy hadn't heard of any meeting however the others didn't seem surprised. What had happened to them? Did none of them find it all strange to be in this house, looking different? Annabeth had mentioned that she hadn't left in a few days and implied that Percy had also been here except that he didn't remember anything like that. And according to Eris (who wasn't exactly reliable), they hadn't moved through time either. The whole situation was just baffling.

Still he followed the others into another room, a dining room judging by the large table. One of Percy's strategies for dealing with the unknown was to just pretend he knew exactly what was happening and hope it would eventually make sense. Usually someone ended up noticing just how clueless Percy was and ended up explaining it to him.

He froze at the sight of three other occupants in the new room. Maybe he ought to have expected this as those pictures had been a dead giveaway if he stopped to think about it. But as it was, nothing prepared him for the sight of three dead people casually sitting or standing as if they belonged there. Silena Beauregard, daughter of Aphrodite. Ethan Nakamura, son of Nemesis the goddess of revenge (they had been enemies until he'd betrayed Kronos and sacrificed his life). Finally there was Bianca di Angelo, huntress (well, probably former huntress) and the daughter of Hades, Nico's sister. What was he supposed to think about all this?

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**That's it! What did you think? Please review with your comments as they're very appreciated. **

**Alternate!Annabeth is indeed Percy's girlfriend but the pairing for this story is still undecided as Alternate!Percy is quite different from regular Percy. Tell me if you have a preferred pairing. Some people who were dead are alive here - interesting right? **

**Hopefully I'll update soon, especially with encouraging comments. Thanks for reading!**


	3. Meeting with un-friends

**Hey there, lots of nice reviews so have another chapter! Starting to get something like a plot going though there's still plenty more to be revealed. **

**In reply to some of the reviews. I'm not thinking of a sequel to this just yet, it's barely started! And yes, Ethan is canon, he meets Percy in the 4th book and when Percy spares his life he joins Kronos, giving him another power to rise. In the end he does redeem himself though, and dies. His goal was to get minor gods a throne and he succeeded, but sacrificed himself doing so. All the characters (except Eris) are canon so far and Eris is in fact the Greek goddess of Strife. So, on to the story!**

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Rather than face the problem head on, Percy thought up a different solution to this conundrum – run away from it as fast as he could. He dashed up the stairs, hardly paying attention to Annabeth's surprised face as he sailed away from them. For want of a familiar place to turn to, he headed back into the room he'd first appeared in. He didn't hear anyone giving pursuit just yet. Eris was in there, sitting on the bed.

Percy breathed deeply, collapsing on the desk chair as he tried to puzzle through what he'd just seen. All three of them had definitely been dead and there was no explanation for why they would be alive now, and casually walking around. All these weird things were happening and… Percy turned to Eris; she was the cause of it, wasn't she?

"Could you explain where all these dead people have come from?" He demanded of the smirking little girl.

"You're not supposed to run away from your friends Percy; I can call you Percy, right?" The girl began by completely derailing the conversation.

"Sure, and I don't think they're really my friends!" Percy said, with some frustration.

Eris's face morphed into one of surprise. "Didn't think you'd work that out so quickly," she said, faintly impressed. She seemed to be on the verge of some evil laughter.

He paused at those words. How had he come to that conclusion exactly? Ethan Nakamura had never been his friend and only Annabeth and Thalia could really be called close friends but somehow… he knew those people down there weren't _his _friends. There were so many little things off about them that'd he'd observed in just a short time.

Yet that had been unmistakeably Annabeth, so how could she feel like a stranger to him? Trying to rationalise what he had seen was make his head hurt.

"So what exactly did you do?" He asked, Eris was watching his expression closely.

Suddenly she jumped up and did a cute little twirl; why, Percy hadn't the faintest idea. "I'd love to tell you but it's far too much fun watching you struggle, sorry!" She said cheerfully, moving to stand behind Percy's chair.

"So, you're not going to tell me anything?"

"Hmm… I recommend you act naturally, don't alert your friends to the fact that you're from a different reality," she advised brightly after considering the question thoughtfully.

"A different reality?" He mumbled, if Eris was trying to keep things from him, she was doing a terrible job. She had been acting really excited so she was likely getting carried away. Or it was her deliberately revealing information for her own agenda.

"So are you heading back downstairs now?" She prodded, pretending not to hear that last comment though she was standing right next to him.

Well he didn't want them to notice anything and they were expecting him to be at their meeting, weren't they? With that thought, Percy got up and left his room, ready to risk getting found out on his mediocre acting skills. Not that he was that bad, but he could often be a little impulsive. Still, Annabeth was always saying that people tended to underestimate him, deciding he was a 'seaweed brain', no one would notice if he had no idea what was going on.

He ran down the corridor, down the staircase and- Whoa! He'd nearly crashed into someone as he rushed down the stairs, which was careless. As he looked up, he saw a pretty girl; it was Silena. She'd obviously been waiting for him and merely snorted as his sudden appearance.

"Thalia's furious at you for running out like that, hope you have a good excuse," she said, before turning and walking down the last few steps of the stairs.

Percy quickly followed. "Sorry, I… umm, er…" He began, but couldn't really think of any excuses to explain why he'd dashed off. And he was distracted by the sight of the girl whom he knew to be dead. She looked alive.

"Never mind, just come on."

And he walked into the dining room with her. Five demigods looked up in annoyance; he'd not chosen the best time to run off. Silena smoothly glided through the room and sat down at the table. Percy just stood there sheepishly, not sure whether to follow or something else.

"I don't want to hear any excuses, just come and sit down so we can start," was all Thalia said in a clipped tone.

He relaxed and gratefully took the open seat between Annabeth and Chris. For some reason, Thalia wasn't interested in telling him off. And she was so clearly the leader of this little group; possibly because she seemed to be the oldest but more likely because of her dominating personality.

"So we've been busy with operation: build a better camp half-blood and currently Annabeth thinks the biggest problem is protection," she began. That was what this group was trying to do?

Percy raised his hand. "What's wrong with the current camp?"

Thalia looked a little irritated at the interruption but fortunately Ethan quickly replied. "That's a good point; we need to make sure ours is going to be superior so it can't have the same problems."

Annabeth nodded. "And protection's the main problem; if we could stop monsters getting in then half-bloods would jump at the chance to join us," she said with certainty.

Ethan didn't look so sure. "Yes, but remember that the camp is filled with weapons and strawberry fields and all that Greek architecture, we need to look professional."

"I think campers would prefer to be safe rather than have strawberry fields," Annabeth replied, an amused look in her eyes.

Percy just watched the as the two debated in bemusement. While they were arguing, it was clear that they were friends and he wouldn't have imagined something like that ever happening. Even if this was some kind of… alternate reality. He still didn't know why they wanted to build a new camp but it seemed to be sort of competitive. And wasn't the camp a safe haven with strong magical protection from Thalia's tree?

"The strawberries bring in money, the camp is a comfortable place to live and it's better protected than anywhere else," Ethan shot back.

"We get the point Ethan; we'll work on more than just protection, okay?" Chris cut in loudly, his intent not so much to pacify as to get them both to stop arguing.

"Yes. So we'd like to build a strong fort ideally but does anyone have any other suggestions for a good defence?" Thalia asked, quickly getting the meeting back under control.

Wait, what if there wasn't magic from Thalia's tree to protect the camp? Then it'd be practically defenceless, like during that summer when it had been poisoned… And Thalia seemed older, like she hadn't spent a years as a tree. That had to be the problem. Percy felt cold, scared by the prospect.

"What if you got some magical creatures from the Triple G ranch to help defend?" Percy found himself saying the first thing that popped to mind.

The effect was immediate. Everyone turned to stare at him in surprise. "You've never mentioned this Ranch before, Percy?" Bianca eventually spoke carefully.

He wasn't supposed to know about it? Wonderful, now he'd have to think up a convincing lie. Why'd he have to speak up? "I found out about it recently," he said quickly.

They seemed to accept his word, fortunately. "So what is this ranch?" Bianca asked in that quiet voice of hers.

"They take care of animals like Apollo's red sun cows and flesh-eating horses," Percy explained, wishing he had more intelligent things to add. All he could think of was how Nico had summoned Bianca's ghost there and that wasn't the best thing to say.

"You're suggesting we use flesh-eating horses as guards?" Thalia's tone revealed she was intrigued by the idea however.

"So where is this place?" Chris, next to him, asked.

Of course they'd ask him questions that he didn't know the answer to. He'd found the place by going through the labyrinth but that was collapsed. Wait a minute, how did he know it wasn't still there? If Thalia's tree didn't exist then the camp would never need to be invaded through the labyrinth. Just how different was this place?

"Well I accidently found it while going through the labyrinth so-"

"You what!?" Annabeth shrieked. Her face was pale and she was breathing heavily. She was absolutely flabbergasted.

Everyone around the table had similar expressions but it was Annabeth who grabbed his arm, desperate for an explanation. Well it was probably still here, at least.

"It was only for a few minutes, and I think I may be able to find a way to navigate it – it's really useful!" Percy tried to defend himself. It was difficult, not knowing what they knew or what they thought he knew. They weren't exactly suspicious of him, yet at least.

"No, no it's too dangerous, you idiot!" Annabeth warned him.

And Annabeth was probably the most open-minded about the labyrinth. She'd been incredibly fascinated by it until she'd actually entered.

"Just how reliable is this method of navigation?" It was Ethan; he had this greedy look in his eyes as he'd no doubt understood the tactical advantages it held.

"It's very reliable." Percy probably ought to have attempted to change the subject but at least he could offer useful advice about this. He still had Rachel's number memorised somehow, maybe it would work?

Almost everyone looked uneasy but Ethan was interested by the new idea. "Thalia, we ought to at least look into this," he said.

Thalia examined the table, and it's occupants for several moments, then she stood up. "Very well then, I'd like to speak to Percy alone. The rest of you are dismissed for the night but I think we'll have to have another meeting tomorrow morning," she announced, solemnly.

Everyone listened to her, the other girls looked concerned, Ethan looked satisfied and Chris's opinion was hard to read. Still they all vacated the room quickly, Annabeth giving him a worried look before leaving him alone with Thalia. He turned to the older girl with apprehension, who knew what she would ask? Why did he have to stand out?

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**That's it for now. Percy hasn't realised that the group he's in doesn't have the noblest of goals for building a new camp, in fact it's just a stepping stone on their path to take over Olympus! But more to be revealed later.**

**Please do review, as they're very encouraging and appreciated. **


	4. Too many lies

**Hey there, here's another chapter. It's been a busy week so this is my first chance to post it but I hope you like it. Once again thanks for the reviews, a few conversations in this chapter but I'll make sure to increase the pace soon.**

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"I'm struggling to understand why you would keep something like this a secret until just now," Thalia began, actually shutting the door with a gust of wind. He rarely saw powers used for such mundane purposes.

Her casual use of power was probably meant to be intimidating too though and Percy had to admit it was succeeding as she glowered at him. Now how could he answer? He found himself running his fingers through his dark hair and shrugging his shoulders. Ignorance usually worked best.

"Seriously, you just brought it up casually a couple of minutes into the meeting. You acted like it wasn't important!" Thalia ranted, working herself into a rage as she talked. Percy watched her warily.

"The solution wasn't that hard, I mean, the answer was there all along," he said nonchalantly. He had to make her think that he was an idiot and her words were wasted on him; he didn't want her to become suspicious instead.

Thalia just made some sort of agonised noise as if it was a pain to listen to him; she was looking very frustrated. Then she sighed deeply. "Navigating the labyrinth is supposed to be impossible, why would a solution be simple?"

Thalia was being really sceptical though it was kind of reasonable. "It's only impossible for demigods, well not without help anyway," Percy explained quickly, trying to appease the girl, well woman.

"Who helped you then?" She demanded.

Rachel wouldn't mind being contacted, would she? Percy realised that Rachel might be… alternate too but hopefully she wouldn't have changed. If she could help them navigate the labyrinth again then Thalia would have to believe that he'd discovered the secret. Conveniently he still remembered her number.

"This girl I know."

"Who is this girl? Where'd did you meet her?" She pressed, taking a step closer to him so she was right in his face. Electric blue eyes, just like the Thalia he knew.

"A-at school, her name is Rachel," Percy replied uncomfortably, taking a small step back.

"You got expelled from your last school two years ago," Thalia raised her eyebrows in confusion.

Why hadn't he gone to school? Or why did Thalia think that? Had there been an alternate version of himself that these familiar strangers knew but he didn't? How different were the two of them?

"I- I mean outside her school, that's where we met," he struggled to come up with a not terrible lie. It was just Thalia but somehow he felt like he was surrounded by fiery dragons, ready to burn him if messed up.

"So you just met this random girl at a random school that you happened to pass and she just happened to know how to navigate through the labyrinth?" Thalia summed up dryly.

"No! Not exactly, she can see through the mist and she was seeing monsters, and then she saw me." That was how the two of them had met. Oh Percy really hoped she hadn't changed, if they weren't friends then Percy desperately wanted to make friends again.

Thalia was silent for a few moments, thinking over what she'd heard. "So what you're saying is that because she can see through the mist she is able to get through the labyrinth?" She deduced.

She'd figured that out quickly. "That's right."

She suddenly turned away from him and walked a took a few steps in another direction. He saw her fists clenched in anger and when she turned back to him her thoughtful expression had been replaced by one of fury. He couldn't think what had set it off but Percy was alarmed.

"You think I'm crazy, don't you?" She asked, viciously. What did she want to hear?

"What? No-" Percy began.

"You think I don't like mortals – she's a mortal isn't she?" Thalia continued, ignoring his words.

Percy did nothing; he had no idea what to say. He didn't know this Thalia very well so he hadn't the faintest idea why she'd suddenly start talking like this.

"Well I actually do care about mortals and would be happy to have some join our rebellion! Don't you understand? You're allowed to have friends, there's no need to keep them a secret," she said, a determined air in her voice.

"You want to change the world too, don't you? I know you want a place where demigods don't have to die." There was so much emotion and feeling in her voice, but he didn't really understand what she meant.

"Yes," he replied. He didn't know what else to say, these words weren't directed at him but his alternate self.

Thalia gave him one her rare smiles. "Don't hide your friends, she's why you're only mentioning the labyrinth now but I have no intention of hurting her, I want to work with her."

Somehow Thalia had come to her own conclusions from what had been said and she was appeased. He was lucky for now but what had she meant about rebellion? What exactly was this group doing? He'd have to play along for now; maybe if Thalia explained everything to Rachel, he'd get a bit of info too.

"Maybe you should meet her then, I could call her?" Percy suggested shyly.

"That sounds lovely!" Thalia beamed, obviously pleased that the conversation had been a success so far as she was concerned.

Percy nodded and quickly escaped, opening the door and heading up the stairs. Or he would've if a certain little girl hadn't been standing right outside, waiting for him to come out. Percy jumped in surprise; her appearances were rather disarming. Eris looked cheerful, which seemed to be her default expression.

"Shhh!" Eris whispered, grabbing his arm and tugging to get him to follow her up the stairs. "Let's go back to base."

She was beginning to get kind of annoying Percy thought, puzzling over how she had decided that the room was their base. And she was always moving around! Percy hadn't realised gods even got ADHD but she was jumping about all over the place whilst pulling him - in a straight line. When they finally got into the room, Percy made a point of ignoring her while he fiddled with the phone.

"My reconnaissance mission was a complete success!" Eris announced grandly, nonetheless.

5555. Percy plunked the numbers into the phone, it was the passcode he'd used previously and to his delight the phone immediately gave him access. Maybe this really was his room, or at least his alternate's room.

"This house is located in the suburbs of New York, you and your friends started up a group and this is your base of operations!" Eris revealed in that over the top tone.

Upon checking the contacts it turned out he only had seven numbers in his contacts list. Guess who they were. Himself and the other six demigods. He probably didn't use it much though seeing as how it attracted monsters to him; he wasn't sure why he had a phone at all if he couldn't be in the safety of camp half-blood.

"It has been organised for roughly two years, established by Thalia, who is also the leader," Eris continued with the same vigour.

Oh well, it was convenient if he could use it. He quickly typed in Rachel's number but hesitated over pressing the call button. What would she say? She was usually straightforward and easy to talk to but this call would be considered very weird, even for her.

He felt a severe sting. Pointy objects were cutting into his neck with the intent of causing him pain. He tried to turn his head but strong claws (where had they come from?) restricted his movement. Out of the corner of his eye he identified the threat as Eris, and immediately struggled against the little girl with determination but she was deceptively strong and wouldn't let go, brutally strangling him, blocking his airways. He coughed and finally ripped off her hands (claws!) before turning and tackling her to the ground.

Eris gave him an ugly smirk; claws had replaced her petite hands and they were now digging into his arms, which restrained her. He tried not to gasp in pain as she drew blood. Immediately he grabbed her wrists instead, pulled her up from the ground and then pinned her to the wall.

"What was that for?" He demanded angrily.

Eris didn't act particularly intimidated; in fact she seemed oddly proud. "That was a warning, don't you dare ignore me!"

"You attacked me because I wasn't listening to you?" Percy surmised in confusion. "And why are you still smiling?"

"I don't take well to slights and I hate being treated like I'm some unimportant minor god," she replied, a dark look on her face.

"Then why'd you attack me? I refused immortality to get minor gods a throne on Olympus," Percy reminded her.

"No, you refused immortality to be with your beloved and the whole throne thing was just an excuse for half-bloods to be claimed!" Eris retorted.

Percy wondered if Eris was only now showing her true feelings and the carefree child was just an act. "What's that even supposed to mean? My actions helped you."

"It's true to some extent that they should've but the gods are always looking for ways to slight me and it will be a long time, if ever, before I get some sort of throne," Eris confessed, now looking tragically sad.

"Capturing you was really a bit of revenge, because I hate being forgotten!"

Percy finally let go of her but she didn't make any move to attack again. A warning huh? It was probably a bad idea to listen to her seeing as how she was probably evil and destructive but he could be an idiot right? It didn't seem like she was planning on leaving him alone anytime soon.

"I apologise then," Percy said, not that he really regretted any actions. He'd lied a fair amount today already though.

Her features transformed into a brilliant grin. "Great!" Any traces of seriousness immediately vanished from her expression as she danced away from him. She changed moods far too quickly.

"Oh yeah, I was smiling because you're supposed to be some sort of heroic fighter, defeating Titans according to what the other gods say, and I managed to injure you!" She added randomly.

Hurting him was supposed to be some sort of accomplishment? When had he lost the curse of Achilles anyway? When he'd ended up here presumably, it was annoying but also a bit of a relief; that curse exhausted him.

"So what are your plans for this world?" Eris asked.

"Just going to lie low, and wait until you have to send me back, you said you couldn't keep me here forever right?" Percy quickly answered.

She frowned. "That's no fun at all!" She complained looking quite upset.

"Fine then! What if I told you that you're an evil person here, and your ultimate goal is to overthrow the gods and Olympus before your little group takes over the world?"

"WHAT?"

"I'm going to enjoy watching you destroy the world whether you like it or not!" Eris declared, implying that lying low was a horrible mistake.

That couldn't be true, how could it? But Thalia had mentioned a rebellion and changing the world…

Oh no.

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**That's it, thanks for reading! Do tell me whether you like or dislike Eris as she's essentially an original character, I can make her role smaller if she's annoying you though I quite like writing her. **

**Anyway please do review and I'll try to update soon! I will take your suggestions into account. **


	5. Why can't he be allowed to relax?

**Hey there, been a few days since I updated this but I've had other stories to take care of too. I rewrote An impossible relationship so it sounds far better and added another chapter to Regrets. Don't want to neglect it in favour of this new one. Especially as it so far appears more popular than this one. I appreciate reviews as they encourage me to work on this! Anyway I hope you like this chapter. **

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"You're lying! These are my friends," Percy protested Eris's wild claim. Their ultimate goal couldn't be destruction - it was wrong.

"So are you just going to blend in?" She asked chirpily, as if he hadn't spoken.

Surprisingly, Eris didn't seem to fancy arguments yet often spoke with this annoying certainty in her voice. Like there was no question of her being wrong and she saw no reason to discuss the issue. She wasn't going to reply that she wasn't lying or explain the situation further. She was satisfied that she'd created turmoil in his mind.

"What do you mean?" Percy said, fearing the worst. He drummed his fingers on the desk in anxiety.

She sighed, looking impatient. "You said you were just going to wait until I sent you back."

A moment ago he'd thought everything here was fine but if it wasn't then he had to act. He couldn't bear to see innocent people get hurt even if… even if his friends… No. He couldn't betray his friends, they meant the world to him. But he didn't want the world to be destroyed either! Was there a way to save the world and his friends?

"I don't know," Percy confessed. It felt like Annabeth had betrayed him. All of them really, but mostly Annabeth.

A simple idea occurred to him. "Wait, I'm going to call Rachel," He added with newfound determination. The phone was in his hands and she was so straightforward, he'd know if she decided to change. He shouldn't jump to conclusions about the group yet, anyway. Everything was so weird today, it was probably best to disbelieve everything at this point, (especially if it was said by Eris).

Eris clapped her hands together in excitement. "Lovely! I think I'll go and scare her, then. Later!" And with that she began glowing gold. Percy quickly averted his gaze and when he turned back, she was gone.

What was that about? Why'd she disappear? Actually, it was probably best not to think about it, she was high on his mental list of very strange gods. However, Percy couldn't help but note that the room felt strangely dull with her boundless excitement abruptly gone. It was more peaceful though.

And with no excuse to delay the call, Percy dialled her number and waited for the phone to connect. If the phone was going to connect at all. What was he going to say to her?

"…Hello?"

Had the call worked? "Is this Rachel Elizabeth Dare?"

"Yes, but who are you? I don't have any boys' numbers and I don't like salespeople. You have two seconds to amuse me," It was unmistakably Rachel on the phone.

"I'm Percy; have you ever seen things you couldn't explain? Like monsters from myths? And no one else could see it?" That ought to keep her interest.

There was a slight pause. "Are you suggesting monster exist? Because most people would call you crazy," she said but he thought he could detect interest.

"Maybe I am but that doesn't mean I'm lying. In fact I wanted to show you I'm not," Percy replied. Great, he'd just called himself crazy; most people would hang up on him for being nonsensical.

Rachel was not most people. "So just because you think monsters exist, I should meet with you?" Rachel said sceptically.

"Are you interested? I'm not doing anything tomorrow," Percy replied, Rachel had never been able to resist odd, maybe life-threatening offers.

Another pause. "Where do you want to meet?"

Percy grinned, surprised but pleased with the small success. He quickly suggested a location which he knew was right by an entrance to the labyrinth and she agreed to meet him there (with a small warning that if he was faking this, she'd kill him with her hairbrush she reserved for enemies and particularly fierce knots).

Once he'd hung up a wave of exhaustion seemed to roll over him and he realised how tired he was. How much had changed in the past couple of hours? A whole new world where almost everything he knew was different, though not too different. In fact this alternate world was eerily similar to his own, friends who acted just a little different and the same events appeared to have occurred with different outcomes.

Annabeth (his Annabeth) had mentioned something like this once. She'd been in Olympus going over her plans for renovations and the conversation had shifted to an odd topic. What if damage had happened in other places, how different would her overall designs be then? She'd said that perhaps in another world she had rebuilt it differently and, since Olympus was such an important place, the small changes could have had significant impacts for the future. Alternate dimensions, where everything was different, were the outcomes for these seemingly insignificant events.

The very idea that he could be in one was hurting his head. What could have caused his friends to change so much that they wanted to overthrow the gods? It had to be something big, right? It was with these troubling thoughts that Percy eventually drifted to sleep.

* * *

RING! RING!

Percy ignored the horrible noise, digging in to the warm covers, not willing to wake up. RING! RING! The clock demanded that he get up. With a groan, he reached forward to give it a hard whack. He was going to lie here for a few more minutes and nothing could change his mind. The alarm was apparently satisfied with forcing him to retaliate and gave him some peaceful silence.

Then a loud crunching noise reached his ears, just as he'd managed to relax again. As the annoying crunches continued he sighed, realising that he was going to be denied any rest until he dealt with it. Percy got up, and looked around the room in incomprehension. He was a little disorientated but he couldn't recognise where he was.

"Good morning!" Piped up a little girl, who was eating an apple. She was the source of the annoying crunching noise then.

"Where am I?" He asked her drowsily.

She frowned slightly. "I always thought demigods were light sleepers but you look grumpy."

Ah that was Eris, most annoying god he'd ever met despite only knowing her for half a day. And this was his alternate's room. Yesterday had been somewhat strange. So strange in fact, that some of that strangeness was almost certain to overflow into today; unfortunately there was no real way to prepare for utter strangeness.

"Is there food downstairs?" He asked her, looking longingly at the apple as she took another large bite. Food was generally a good way to prepare no matter what happened.

"There is!" She said, looking pleased about the fact.

"Great, I'll just get dressed and…" Percy muttered to himself.

"Unfortunately you won't have time to eat as you'll need to go out to meet Rachel in a few minutes," Eris interrupted in her usual cheerful manner.

"What?"

"I'll go explore while you get ready, you don't want to keep miss Thalia waiting for long," Eris said advised, walking out of the room.

"Why didn't you wake me up half an hour ago?" He demanded to the retreating figure, but she didn't reply.

He did take her advice though, and got ready quickly, grabbing anything he thought might be useful in the room. It turned out that he didn't own riptide in this world and instead had a long blue blade that could shrink in length to the size of a knife; while that was pretty cool, it was far less spectacular than his old sword and he felt a little cheated. Still, it was better than nothing.

When he arrived downstairs a few minutes later, Thalia was already waiting at the door with a look of impatience on her disconcertingly old face. Annabeth popped her head in from the hallway and glanced at the pair of them questioningly.

"We're going out now, though we ought to have left a few minutes ago," Thalia said bluntly, rolling her eyes as Percy stumbled on the stairs.

Annabeth looked far from pleased. "Oh… you don't need my help for anything, do you?" She asked.

"No, you're invaluable here," Thalia rejected her request. "Come on, you." The last was said to him and Percy followed her out the door.

Percy was surprised to be lead to a humble-looking black car though it made sense for her to drive. No words were exchanged save for a short description of where they were meeting Rachel. He didn't know what to say to her as she smoothly drove out of the drive and into the road. It was best to say nothing really in case he said something wrong and she became suspicious. He didn't know this Thalia well enough to know what she'd do.

After a few minutes of this uncomfortable silence though, Thalia casually asked for more info about Rachel. Hopefully Rachel wasn't too different, she'd seemed normal on the phone. It was probably best to be honest, maybe a little vague.

"Her full name's Rachel Elizabeth Dare and her family are quite wealthy though I don't think she's very much like her parents. She's kind of odd – for a mortal," Percy said, awkwardly adding that last sentence. Of course all demigods were so strange; Rachel did fit in with them.

"And she's completely aware of the gods?" Thalia queried.

"Umm… mostly?"

"Maybe I should talk to her first, so I can introduce her to the idea of demigods?" Percy suggested, he had to talk to her first, to get her to play along. Maybe he ought to have this idea through.

Thalia audibly groaned. "She doesn't know about demigods at all? Fine then, I'm not up to explaining the basics and you already know her."

That was good, at least but how much could he say to her before Thalia came, expecting to be shown the labyrinth? How much had he said to her last night? Had he explained anything at all? Percy really hoped this meeting went better than he expected.

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**That's it, what did you think? Does the tone sound a little too serious? Is the pace a bit slow? Please do be honest with me, I'd really appreciate your reviews.**

**Luke isn't a villain in this world, if you're wondering. Thanks for reading!**


	6. A trip with a pretty guide

**Hey there, I was eager to write another chapter of this little story so here you go! We get to meet Rachel Elizabeth Dare, whom I quite like. And she's not an oracle, which I like even more. By the way, this story's already over 10 000 words!**

**I still don't have a planned pairing so feel free to tell me if there's one you'd prefer.**

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It was impressive how Rachel stood out even in a crowd of people. They'd agreed to meet in a shopping centre and it was full of people at this time of the day. Yet most people were busy, walking with a sense of purpose as if they were short for time. Rachel seemed so detached from her hectic surroundings, aimlessly drifting through the throng of people.

Percy ran over to her, aware that Thalia was watching him from afar. Rachel immediately noticed and looked at him intently, a serious look in her gaze that meant he'd better have something interesting to tell. She wasn't prepared to take this meeting as a joke; she wanted answers.

"You must be Percy, but how do you know me?" Rachel asked; she seemed cautious. Only her desperation for answers was why she had come after all.

"Rachel," he greeted, with a friendly smile, or perhaps it was a relieved smile. So far she seemed exactly like he remembered. She wore ragged clothes that were nonetheless expensive and clashed interestingly. Only she could make blue and green work together and not look garish with her red hair. There seemed to be paint on the cuffs of her jacket too.

"I happen to know that you have the special ability to see through the mist, which is why you're able to see monsters that others don't see," Percy launched right into an explanation.

"The mist? Are you like me then? Can you see through this mist too?" Rachel asked, examining his face. She was probably looking for signs that would indicate he was a monster too, like she'd done previously, in his dimension.

"I can see monsters but they can see me too, I'm not exactly a mortal," Percy tried to explain in a roundabout way, but he couldn't see any way to reveal what he was without just being blunt.

"I'm a demigod, my father is one of the Greek gods of Olympus, and they regularly have children with mortals like in the myths. The myths are all true," Percy decided to just confess.

Rachel seemed stunned by the new information and didn't know how to react to such an outlandish tale. At least she wasn't running away, not that he would expect her too. It was so weird to have to explain everything to her for the second time.

"The Greek myths are all true?" Rachel repeated.

"Yes, all the strange stuff is hidden to mortals through the mist though, so that they don't see my world."

"But I'm special?" Rachel said and her eyes were now alight with the new information. His explanations made sense to her; of course they would. "So all the Greek gods are real?"

"Yes," Percy replied, glancing behind him. Thalia was still far away but the expression on her face told him he didn't have a minute. She was coming over here.

"Listen, you can see things even better than I can, so I need your help, you have the power to navigate through the labyrinth and I need you to lead us through it," he said in a rush.

"You think I can lead through a place I've never been?" She asked sceptically.

"I know you can."

Thalia approached the pair of them, and immediately focused on Rachel. She was measuring her up, trying to get a reading on who this new person was. Percy couldn't tell what her judgement was.

"So this girl really does exist," Thalia observed to Percy.

Rachel didn't seem to like the idea of being talked about when she didn't know, and frowned. She shot a pointed glance at Percy, asking who this strange woman was. Thalia didn't seem to care if she accidentally offended her.

"This is Thalia, she's also a demigod and is coming with us to see the labyrinth," Percy introduced. Rachel could say anything now and there was nothing he could do.

"Really? So you want to go to the… labyrinth now?" Rachel asked. Phew, a safe response.

"Yes. You know, you're not very good at making plans, Percy. Did you inform her of anything when you called her?" Thalia rolled her eyes.

"Yeah, I'll show you the entrance I've found here," Percy replied, gesturing for both of them to come.

Despite Rachel being far from understanding the situation, she quickly followed, keen for a bit of proof, so far she'd only taken his word. Thalia also came, impatient to start their journey. Inside a strange card shop, Percy knew they would find the mark of Daedalus on the wall. He'd only found it after the Labyrinth had been destroyed so he'd never actually had the chance to use it in his dimension but it was unmistakeably the right mark.

"It requires the touch of a demigod to open an entrance but they're always marked with this sign," Percy informed Rachel as the approached said wall. Hopefully Thalia wasn't going to be suspicious; he'd said earlier that Rachel had already taken him through the labyrinth before.

He touched the wall and Rachel gasped as it smoothly opened up to reveal a dark tunnel, the entrance easily big enough for the three of them to slip inside. They all entered slowly and the wall closed behind them leaving them in darkness; they were in the Labyrinth. It was a scary thought. Even with Rachel as guide, there was much to fear.

"So would you lead us to the triple G ranch? You're clear-sighted so the way should be clear to you," Percy asked Rachel, as Thalia turned on a torch, giving them some much needed light. It was eerily dark and quiet once you were inside. Even talking felt unnatural. He'd never thought he'd end up in here again.

"I can try; the way forward looks pretty obvious, are you sure only I can see it?" Rachel replied, a little nervous.

"Only you can lead the way."

He grabbed her hand for reassurance as she walked forward, and she didn't seem to mind, seeing as how dark it was, the torch was only slightly illuminating. Percy looked at the ground intently, wondering if it was possible to learn how to navigate the labyrinth like Rachel could. Daedalus had said that demigods were easily distracted, which was why the labyrinth was so successful at tricking them…

"You sure, you know where you're going?" Thalia called out, slightly anxious. She was right behind him; obviously even she wanted to stay close as they explored the alien location.

"This is the way we need to go," Rachel replied, strangely confident. It was odd how she moved and changed directions with such confidence when everywhere looked the same to him.

"Duck!" She shouted suddenly, and they all ducked as a spiky trap appeared through the darkness, trying to injure them. Thankfully, it passed right over their heads, harmlessly. "There seems to be lots of these traps ahead, follow me closely okay?"

Did Rachel realise that this would be such a dangerous mission? She didn't turn around or even hesitate despite the risks like that trap, though she did squeeze on his hand for support. Percy squeezed back in response though he felt a little useless now; he could offer her no substantial help in here.

With Rachel guiding them, they avoided a few more traps and travelled through the labyrinth quickly though it was hard to say how much progress they'd make. They didn't talk much seeing as how soon all three of them were running, as it was a thoroughly unpleasant place and they wanted to get out quickly. At least lit braziers appeared on the walls after a while, lighting up the dark tunnels so they could actually appreciate some of the intricate designs on the walls.

It was a beautifully designed structure at times, and it could even be enjoyable if it weren't for the constant threat to your life. Soon, when they arrived at the ranch, they were more than pleased to be out. Being surrounded by incredible fantastical creatures was just an added bonus.

"Wow, I don't even recognise some of these mythical creatures, I'm glad I came," Rachel said, looking at some half-horse, half-monsters that Percy didn't know the name of either. He grinned, pleased to have gained Rachel's trust somewhat.

"So we could buy these creatures, as defence? That was your plan, right?" Thalia asked, also looking around with great interest.

"Yeah, but the guy who owns this place is a dishonest monster, not sure if we can negotiate with him," Percy replied, remembering how hard it had been to kill Geryon.

Thalia sighed. "Of course you'd only mention that after we arrived."

Percy took out his knife-sword thingy. "Killing him is really the best option but he's going to be really tough," he said.

"So you're going to destroy monsters with swords? Should I just watch or something?" Rachel said, now frowning. She wouldn't be fond of killing and he hadn't told her how monsters always came back.

Thalia grinned though, looking more like the Thalia he remembered. "And I was worried; I'd be bored on this little trip."

The trio ran forward, heading through a grassy field towards a modest-looking manor which was where Geryon lived as well as that immortal son of Ares, Eurytion. Thalia got out a spear as she was running that was slightly different from the one he remembered her using, and she didn't seem to have Aegis with her either.

"What exactly do you want monsters for anyway?" Rachel asked, as she paused to take a breath.

Thalia stopped too and answered her question. "The gods are not nice. We're planning to set up our own camp that will be safe for us so we can prepare to take them on."

That stunned Rachel and Percy felt uneasy just hearing it. Thalia hadn't trusted her father when Percy had first met her, had she? Had she never realised that he cared about her? (Percy was certain Zeus cared about his daughter).

"You… You guys want to take on the gods?" She stuttered.

Thalia nodded seriously. "But we're not strong enough yet, if you could help us navigate the labyrinth regularly, it'd be a great help."

"I don't know… you're going to turn this ranch into a camp for demigods?" Rachel queried. Maybe she was rethinking trusting them. Percy couldn't blame her.

"No, we're going to set up a new one," she corrected.

"Actually, this place would be perfect, why don't we just take over this place?" Thalia suddenly added, thinking about it. "We'd have loads of protection and there's plenty of space here!"

As Thalia turned to him, looking for what he thought, he quickly mumbled something about how it was a good idea. Had he helped her too much? How was he going to stop them?

"It's settled then! I'll call the others as soon as we've taken care of the boss!" Thalia announced, looking very pleased.

"Let's just get going," Percy said, wanting to get this whole business out of the way. He wouldn't mind disposing of Geryon and making a new safe spot for demigods though.

They didn't manage another step, Orthrus, the fierce two-headed dog, appeared out of nowhere followed by Eurytion, who was holding a deadly sword. They really ought to have been watching their backs, especially when surrounded by all these potentially dangerous monsters.

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**That's it, hope you liked it! I would appreciate it if you took a moment to give a quick review. They're very encouraging.**

**Do any of the characters seem to Out Of Character, by the way? One of these days I should get a beta to help with stuff like that.**


	7. Wait, all we've done is negotiate?

**Am I neglecting Regrets for this new story that I love much more? Possibly but have another update! I hope you enjoy it!**

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"Orthrus heel," Eurytion commanded lazily. The vicious two-headed dog retreated though remained alert. Percy had forgotten how just how big it was.

Thalia, pulled out her spear anyway, a feral grin on her face. "Nice dog. Are you in charge around here?" She challenged.

Eurytion snorted, amused by her antics. "Do I look like I'm in charge 'round here?" He asked, gesturing to his tattered ranch clothing. "I'll be taking you to the boss now miss."

He seemed the same as Percy remembered though it had been over a year since he'd seen Eurytion so he was a bit foggy on it. Honestly, it was impressive he'd even remembered the name. Hopefully he wouldn't be interested in helping his master or else this would be a short adventure. Eurytion was a big, strong and no doubt experienced son of Ares.

"You must be Eurytion," Percy felt like saying as said person gestured for the group to head into the manor. It was kind of awesome knowing all this stuff and shocking others with his knowledge. They could probably do the same to him if they knew he was actually from an alternate dimension though.

Unsurprisingly, Eurytion froze but a few seconds later he seemed to have recovered. "'surprised you've heard of me," was all he said casually, walking forward, his back to them. Thalia was also surprised but couldn't do more than stare at him; the two-headed dog was behind them and if they stopped moving it wouldn't hesitate to attack.

The group swiftly entered the house with Orthrus hot on their heels and he took them to what appeared to be a living room. There was a large couch facing a TV and a couple of bookshelves. However the genuine Greek weapons on the wall kept Percy on his guard; he couldn't help but smile fondly at a familiar bow and arrow though.

"Oh guests, lovely!" Geryon had entered and used his three chests to boom out a loud greeting. Percy stared at the grotesque figure. He couldn't help it. Thalia and Rachel also stared.

"It's the chests, isn't?"

Thalia recovered quickly and introduced the three of them in a determined tone. She was assuming the role of leader naturally and Percy reminded of how the Thalia he knew was in charge of the hunters.

Geryon laughed heartily. "What business do three naïve demigods have at my ranch?" Apparently he hadn't identified Rachel as a mortal and she wasn't about to correct him.

"We wanted to turn the ranch into a safe haven for demigods," Percy supplied.

Thalia shot him a look of irritation for speaking but Geryon actually looked interested incredibly enough. Maybe they wouldn't have to destroy him?

"Think of the publicity you'd get from it - and the support from bored half-bloods. Maybe you could become a great trainer like Chiron?" Percy continued, wondering just what he was proposing. He hadn't just compared Chiron to Geryon, had he?

"That… is a very intriguing idea." He wore a thoughtful expression on his face. That was a little anti-climactic.

"Well we could use some support and you and Eurytion look very capable," Thalia jumped in to the discussion once she'd recognised the merit in negotiating.

"I'd welcome a bit of change if my boss permits it," Eurytion decided to give his opinion. He firmly looked away as Geryon gave him a look though. It was clear that he wasn't supposed to say anything.

Rachel sat down on the couch, realising a lengthy discussion was likely to take place and Percy immediately sat next to her, preferring if Thalia lead the conversation. She certainly wanted to. This room seemed rather cosy now that they'd put away their weapons and he was feeling remarkably relaxed considering the presence of two tough possible opponents. He and Thalia were good fighters if it did come to a fight.

"But is it just the three of you? This would be a big undertaking and you're not exactly convincing," Geryon said sceptically. If it was just the three of them then the project probably would seem too much. Doomed to fail.

"Eight actually. And I can guarantee that we can persuade a few more if you think that's necessary," Thalia replied, proudly.

He considered this. "Do you have any concrete plans?"

Thalia smiled, odd as she didn't really strike him as the planning sort. "Loads of it, back at base. I've got a daughter of Athena on the team and she'll have straightened out every minor deal you can think of." Ah, that made sense.

Geryon also smirked nastily however. "Like payment?"

Thalia stopped smiling. "Payment?" She repeated in bewilderment.

He chuckled darkly, taking a monster step towards her. Massive legs to hold up his three torsos meant a big stride. Thalia didn't back down though, and clutched her spear protectively. Percy was suddenly aware of how close Eurytion was as he casually leaned against the couch he and Rachel were sitting on.

"This camp's a cute idea, really it is, but I'm not hosting you out of the good of my hearts and don't you forget it," Geryon said fiercely.

Rachel rolled her eyes, apparently the only one unaffected by the sudden tension. "Well what d'you want then? Other than labour and publicity?"

We all glanced at her; it was surprising how calm she was. "Some gold and a guarantee of protection will be sufficient for now," Geryon replied and the terms sounded surprisingly lenient. Maybe he really did want this.

Thalia grinned once again. "One of our members is very good with gold; she's a daughter of Hades," she said proudly and it seemed like the group she'd formed was quite well-balanced.

"So can we call them to come round here? Maybe we'll sleep here for the night?" Percy asked. If they were actually doing this then they had a lot to plan.

"One more thing," Geryon added harshly. "This is my ranch and I have the right to kick you all out if this camp thing doesn't go well – got it?"

We nodded and Percy felt a bit flustered for it was odd to be working with a monster. He really was a bad guy yet none of them had really wanted to destroy him when negotiating seemed to make such sense. What else would he have to do?

"I'll call the others then, but Rachel we'll need your help to bring them here. Are you happy to join the group?" Thalia checked. She seemed to like the girl and had nearly assumed she was a member.

Rachel looked uncomfortable once again. "Will I have to… fight the gods?"

She was still preoccupied with this group's destructive goal. Percy was too though he was trying not to think of it for the moment. Of course he couldn't avoid this forever and at some point he'd have to either betray his friends or his ideals. He couldn't let time just run out either as he knew his alternate self would almost certainly want destruction too. Doing nothing was giving up.

Geryon gave a booming laugh. "You're little group is really planning something like that? That's very interesting."

Meanwhile Thalia assured Rachel that they would raise an army and she would stay far away from the fighting when they invaded Olympus. She had gone along with everything so smoothly until now but surely Rachel had other commitments though. Had he been wrong to drag her right into this mess?

"I need to think about this, sorry! I can bring your friends here if you want and I'll keep in contact but I'm not sure about all this. It's all…" she trailed off.

"Don't worry, you've been very helpful, I'll give you our numbers," Thalia said kindly, getting out her phone.

* * *

After Thalia had called the others, Percy realised he'd have to accompany Rachel through the labyrinth while Thalia went through more negotiation. They set off together and he invited her to ask more questions now that they were alone.

It was odd to talk as they walked through the dark endless hallways neither of them really sure of their situation. But it was nice to be alone with Rachel bacause she was familiar, as was the labyrinth. And who knew when they'd have another chance to speak?

"Why are you keeping things secret from Miss Thalia?" Rachel immediately questioned. Percy frowned; she was quite perceptive.

"She thinks we've known each other for a while. That this isn't the first time you've met me," Percy responded unwilling to weave anymore lies if he didn't have to.

Rachel considered this; it was hard to know what she thought. "How did you know me?" Another difficult question.

"It…umm, well you see…" Percy mumbled. "It doesn't matter!"

Rachel frowned. "Is this the same thing you're not telling Thalia?" She guessed. How did she jump to such accurate conclusions?

Some of his surprise must have shown on his face as she continued. "You're not going to tell me anything, are you?" There was a hint of sadness on her face.

"Sorry, you've been great today though, I wish-" Percy paused. He wanted to tell her the truth but he couldn't. Would she even believe him if he did? Well, probably.

"Seeing the ranch was incredible though, I would like to come back at some point. Your world seems so much cooler than mine," Rachel changed the topic hurriedly, trying to look cheerful. She was backing off for now then.

They chatted about lighter topics and Percy talked more about the fun parts of being a demigod, and Rachel supplied some amusing tales about her own life. It was great talking to Rachel; she was easy to talk to most of the time

When they got to the shop through the original entrance Percy realised he'd probably have to make another round trip and find some sort of Pegasus or something so he could take Rachel back home again. It was impossible for her to go through the labyrinth without a demigod guide as she couldn't open the doors. Maybe there'd be something at the Ranch to use.

Annabeth, Silena, Chris, Ethan and Bianca were all waiting there for them, full of questions and excited about the adventure. They seemed a bit nervous about going in the Labyrinth again though at this point Percy was almost used to it. Percy answered their questions as best he could but fortunately the fell silent inside the darkness of the labyrinth and ceased questioning him. Especially since it was evident he didn't really know anything.

All five of them were carrying loads of stuff that they thought they needed and apparently were considering keeping one demigod at the house at all times for a good second base. All that could be decided later though, after they'd seen this incredible Ranch.

* * *

**That's it, what did you think? Disappointed about the distinct lack of fighting? Not even a single stables cleaned? Well, sorry I must include more action. Have any good suggestions for exciting scenes or situation? Then please suggest away! **

**I appreciate your reviews! Thanks for reading.**


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